Chapters:

Aisling looked up when Jessie stopped too fast in front of her
and they collided. Her immediate laughter vibrated painfully in
her ears. She'd always heard things differently. What didn't help
was the laughter of everyone else on the street, some of it not
even audible. She turned to glare at a rather nasty offender
andJessie pulled her into the rave club. It had only been open a
few hours, it had taken Jessie weeks to get the passes for them
to come.The passes were the only reason she'd come. They meant
too much to Jessie.

"Come on Aisling, live it up for once. You're only 21 for a year
remember. After that all the drinking gets boring." Jessie was
practically prancing as she moved into the already packed club.
Aisling was beginning to regret having agreed to this. The
overall noise was deafening to her. She gritted her teeth and
moved to keep up with her annoying friend.

Jessie had found her was over to a table in the back. She'd been
just about to sit down when three males had settled into the
seat, one of which had pulled her into his lap. "Hey cutie, want
to have some fun?"

"No, she doesn't. So back off and leave her the fuck alone." The
male looked up at Aisling as if he would say something, but
something of her thoughts must have shown because he and his
buddies scrammed.

"Awe, come on Aisling, please don't ruin the fun tonight. You
always scare off all the good guys." Aisling didn't give that
half-finished thought the benefit of an answer. She'd come to
keep an eye on Jessie and that's what she would do. Even if it
meant being a total buzz kill. Jessie motioned one of the roaming
call-takers over and ordered three sets of double shots. The male
nodded with a playful smile and took off towards the bar. When he
came back he was lacking the caller belt.

"Hi.I just got off, mind if I join?" Aisling was about to decline
when Jessie gave an emphatic yes. Aisling glared at her.Jessie
was unrepentant. Her look said plainly not to ruin the vibe.

Aisling had moved to the bar shortly after Jessie and the male
had wandered off in the direction of the bathrooms. The bartender
gave her a once over before moving down the bar to her. "What do
you want?" Aisling pointed to a bottle on the back shelf of the
bar. It contained a slightly luminescent liquid. "Pay up first."
She handed him two fifties and then took the bottle through a
door to a back room that he indicated.

After chasing a pair of minors out she settled on the couch, she
wanted nothing to do with the chair the pair had been using. She
could still feel the incessant noise off the crowded dance floor.
The first shot burned going down and the voices started to fade
she downed the second almost immediately after.

Aisling set the half-empty bottle on the floor as her eyes found
their way to the door. Someone was pounding on it. "Vierdok!" She
snapped, the strange language easily rolled off her tongue. She
couldn't be bothered to get up and answer it. The door opened and
the bartender came in, shortly followed by Jessie and her
newfound friend.

"We ain't leaving, Aisling, so calm it down." The bartender
ignored them all and picked up the bottle from the floor. He
jerked it out of reach when she made a grab for it.

"Did you drink this by yourself?" She nodded and sweared he
growled afterward. "You're lucky you're still concious. You
should know better." He reached into a pocket on his jeans and
pulled out an onyx bottle. Without asking he forced her jaws open
and poured the thick liquid down her throat. It was icy and
immediately made her want to throw up.

She darted for the trash can and he followed, holding her up by
the waste when she went into dry heaves. She calmed down enough
to glare at him through hazy vision. He just raised an eyebrow at
her before setting her back on the couch and leaving.

Aisling looked over at Jessie. "What time is it?" she asked.

"I don't know, like 3 a.m. I guess." Aisling groaned.

"We're gonna be late, we gotta go." Jessie's friend gave her a
dirty look. Jessie gave her a fake hurt look.

"But we haven't had any fun yet."

"Really, we're already late, let's go." Jessie sighed before
getting up and giving her hanger-on akiss goodbye, it was a long
kiss.

Aisling stumbled to the door before giving herself a brisk shake.
Satisfied by her steadier stance she headed for the front of the
club. That was her first mistake. The moment she came out onto
the dance floor the whirling motion and flashing lights sent her
head spinning.